Photo By 1st Lt. Matthew Doyle | U.S. Air Force Academy cadets get the opportunity for some hands-on cyber security...... read more read more
By Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden
Thanks to a rather unique collaboration, Airmen from the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Wing, located at the Des Moines International Airport, provided cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) a comprehensive view of the capabilities and diverse missions of the Wing’s more than 900 Citizen-Airmen.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, sought to create a program to educate future Air Force leaders on the differences and similarities of Air National Guard operations and to demystify the Air National Guard as a component of the U.S. Air Force.
He reached out to Air Force Academy faculty member, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Chris Miller, about the potential for collaboration between the organizations. The Academy Superintendent's action team, Pathways to Excellence, then secured funding and approval for the initial site visit, which served as a test bed identifying possible areas for future collaboration.
“To our knowledge, this pilot program is a first for the Air National Guard,” said Iowa Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Rick Rutter, who served as the program manager. “This program seeks to initiate a Total Force partnership between the Iowa Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force Academy to provide cadets the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of Air National Guard operations.
“We reached out to every commander at the 132nd Wing, so we could set up briefings and tours throughout every element of the Air National Guard. We actually sought a more hands-on approach that we felt was better able to meet Gen. Orr’s objectives. You can have all the briefings you want, but it’s actually meeting with our National Guard personnel which leaves more of a lasting impression,” said Rutter, who also serves as the Director of Inspections, Inspector General Office at the 132nd Wing.
By immersing the cadets into the daily operation of the Iowa Air National Guard during a drill weekend, the cadets had the opportunity to shadow Airmen performing a wide diversity of missions at the Wing, while becoming educated on the Air National Guard’s Federal and State dual mission structure.
The 132nd Wing, which has served as an aerial reconnaissance and combat fighter unit for more than 70 years, converted to three new operational missions beginning in 2013: an MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Mission Control Element; an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (ISRG); and a Cyber Operations Squadron.
What made this visit especially significant for this group – Cadet 1st Class Kegan Garnett, Cadet 1st Class Andrew Holba, Cadet 1st Class John Tougas, Cadet 2nd Class Alexander Fulton, Cadet 3rd Class Samuel Chadwick and Cadet 3rd Class Nathan Montierth – was the fact three plan to specialize in flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), while the other three are involved in cyber security.
According to Lt. Col. Casey Tidgewell, the Cadet Group One commander, since RPA and Cyber are two of the in-demand career fields cadets are motivated towards, they brought three cadets of each mission type.
“We chose three first-class cadets (seniors) who’ve been selected to serve as RPA pilots upon graduation who also participate in the Air Force Academy's Unmanned Aircraft Systems course,” Tidgewell said. “We also chose three cadets (two 3rd-class cadets, or sophomores, and one 2nd-class cadet, or junior) who are part of the Academy's Cyber Competition Team.”
The ensuing three-day visit featured a whirlwind tour of the Iowa Air National Guard. It began with an informal dinner at Orr’s home on the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center, with Orr and Col. Shawn Ford, the 132nd Wing commander. It concluded with tours of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group; Cyber Operations; RPA Operations; and the Mobile Emergency Operations Center; as well as briefings about the Wing’s Mission Support, Total Force Integration and domestic operations roles.
Cadets also had the opportunity to speak with Col. Mark Chidley, the vice wing commander, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Gregory Schwab, and Lt. Col. Michael Barten, an RPA pilot and USAFA graduate. They also were able to have lunch with a wide range of company grade officers, encompassing all the different missions that comprise Iowa Air National Guard operations.
“Unique opportunities included seeing the 132nd Wing's diverse missions, including MQ-9 operations, cyber operations, and the ISR Group, as well as the several unique state disaster response missions,” Tidgewell said. “Cadets do not receive routine exposure to our Total Force partners, so this was a great opportunity to see what the Air National Guard has to offer and what cadets can expect as they serve side-by-side with the Total Force training for and supporting current operations.”
Montierth, a sophomore from Arizona, felt the trip provided a great exposure to the Air National Guard.
“I’ve had no previous exposure to the Guard, so the trip really helped me understand what the Guard does and how it compares to active duty. The people I met were great and I was impressed with the leadership I observed. It was an awesome trip!"
“These cadets came away with a great understanding about the National Guard. They now understand how we have both a federal and a state mission, and that speaks volumes. I most certainly believe this visit met all of Gen. Orr’s objectives,” said Rutter.
“In my opinion, the USAFA does an outstanding job of selecting these future leaders. You could tell they were very well-rounded, very confident leaders. They’re very competent, very personable and very mature,” he said.
Tidgewell said the highlight of the visit was their ability to see the Iowa Air National Guard’s MQ-9 mission in action and their support of current operations, just like active duty units. He also cited a few of their main takeaways from the Iowa visit.
“The Iowa Air National Guard has an extremely diverse mission set in relevant and high-demand career fields, has several unique opportunities, and brings professional, dedicated Airmen to the Total Force, where we serve side-by-side training for and supporting current operations.”
By starting with such a small number of cadets, officials hope to fine-tune the process, before ramping it up to include participation with the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa.
Tidgewell pointed out there are several opportunities for future collaboration between the two Air Force entities.
“There are several areas we can explore for future collaboration opportunities, including additional site visits with larger numbers of cadets, 132nd Wing Airmen traveling to the USAFA to educate and motivate cadets towards careers in RPA, cyber, and intel, and collaboration between the USAFA's fledgling Cyber Innovation Center and our Cyber Competition Team.
“Cadets were exposed to mission areas they’ll either soon be entering, or are interested in pursuing and they were exposed to the professionalism, dedication, and opportunities of our Air National Guard partners. The ground work was laid and contacts established for future collaborative opportunities between our bases,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2016 16:32 |
| Story ID: | 197895 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 411 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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